Kevin Smith’s Lost Movie ‘Dogma’ Returning to Theaters for Anniversary Screenings
For the past few years, it’s been near impossible to watch Kevin Smith‘s 1999 religious comedy Dogma because Harvey and Bob Weinstein personally owned the rights, and they’ve faced more pressing matters in recent years than finding a new home for it. But The Hollywood Reporter reports that Smith has finally regained the rights to his film, and it’s returning to theaters on June 5. Prior to that, Smith will appear at special Dogma screenings all across the country, kicking off April 20 at the Grove in Los Angeles.
“Prepare Thyself for the Second Coming!,” Smith posted on the social media platform X. “DOGMA returns to theaters everywhere on June 5th! But first, I’m touring it across America, starting 4/20, Easter Sunday!”
Dogma was Smith’s fourth film following Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy. By that point, he was a proven Hollywood commodity, and able to cast Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Selma Hayek, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, and Alanis Morissette in his surreal story about two fallen angels who nearly destroy all of mankind when they attempt to return to Heaven.
The movie grossed $43.9 million on a budget of just $10 million. It remains the most successful movie of Smith’s long career.
“Kevin Smith has made a movie that reflects the spirit in which many Catholics regard their church,” Roger Ebert wrote in a three-and-a-half star review. “He has positioned his comedy on the balance line between theological rigidity and secular reality, which is where so many Catholics find themselves. He deals with eternal questions in terms of flawed characters who live now, today, in an imperfect world.”
The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray, but the distribution deals pre-dated the streaming era. And once Harvey Weinstein’s legal troubles became public, no entity wanted to make a deal with him for understandable reasons. It meant the movie fell off the grid, available only as a used DVD/Blu-ray or a bootleg on YouTube. It put Smith in a very tricky position since acquiring the rights would have meant cutting a deal with Weinstein.
Editor’s picks
“We didn’t want to give him money,” Smith told The Wrap in 2022. “But at the same time, it’s like my movie and he’s got it. He’s holding it hostage. My movie about angels is owned by the devil himself. And if there’s only one way out of this, maybe we could buy it away.”
Negotiations ceased when Smith learned that Weinstein wanted $5 million for the movie. “What sucks is that he’s also sitting his fat ass on my movie,” Smith said. “And the right thing to do would have been to sell it back to me even if you didn’t want to sell for the price that I first said. Tell us what that price is and sell me my self-expression back.”
It’s unclear how exactly Smith recently secured the rights to the movie. But we’re sure he’ll explain himself on the Dogma theatrical tour. And if you attend in a Dogma costume, he’ll take a photo with you after the show. Just don’t tell him this summer is actually the 26th anniversary of the movie even though it’s advertised as the 25th. That’s close enough.